Apparatus for hardening a composition on a core



Feb- 20, 1934 F. MARTINDELL Er AL 1,947,479

APPARATUS FOR HARDENING A COMPOSTION ON A CORE Filed June 6, 1929 Patented Feb. 2o, 1934 UNITED STATES APPARATUS non HARDENING AcoMrosn 'rroN oN A conn Frank Martindell, Western Springs, and Ansel Dwight Miller, Chicago, lll., assignors to Western Y Electric Company,

Incorporated, New

York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application June 6, 1929. Serial No. 368,964

3 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for treating coating material on a core, and more particularly to apparatus for hardening a composition on a core in strand form.

An object of the invention is the provision oi a simple, expeditious, and efficient apparatus for hardening a composition applied to a core.

In accordance with one embodiment the invention contemplates the provision of means for applying a composition containing substantially non-combustible ingredients combined with suitable volatile, combustible substances to a strand and drawing the strand successively through a heating chamber and a combustion chamber, in the latter chamber the volatile combustible substances of the composition are ignited to supply heat sufficient to bake the remaining ingredients of the composition on the strand. Air is admitted to the combustion chamber through apertures at the front and rear thereof after being diiiused so that the pressure at all of the apertures will be equal. The apertures at the front of the combustion chamber extend to a point somewhat higher than those at the rear for the purpose of deflecting the flame of combustion from the strand, while the bottom rows of apertures at both the front and rear of the combustion chamber are angularly disposed so as to project jets of air upwardly to insure a more uniform flame. The flame in the combustion chamber may be further.r regulated by changing the position of the strand in the chamber, which according to one embodiment is achieved by adjusting the position of the receptacle through which the strand is drawn.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of one embodiment thereof when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein Fig. l is a transverse vertical sectional view of apparatus embodying features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View taken substantially on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1 in the direction of the arrows, and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view showing the angularly disposed apertures for projecting the jets of air upwardly into the combustion chamber.

Referring now to the drawing wherein like reference numerals designate the same parts throughout the several views, the numeral 1 designates a pair of channel irons positioned upon thev floor and supporting a plurality of coating units designated generally by the numeral 2 o1' which only one has been shown and only one will be described, sinceall of the units are the same. A connecting plate 3 is secured to the upper flanges ofthe channels 1 and has mounted thereon a base plate 4 which supports a com- 60 pound receptacle 5. The compound receptacle is slidably mounted on the base plate 4 and may be moved to the right or left (Fig. 1) by rotating a headed member 6 which is rotatably mounted in a depending portion of the receptacle 5 vand 65 threaded in the base plate 4. A suitable coni-v position 1'7 maybe supplied to the compound receptacle 5 through a exible hose connection 'Z connected to a pipe 8 which is in turn connected to a source of supply (not shown). 4The supply 70 of composition 17 in the compound receptacle 5 may be drawn oi through a iiexible hose connection 9 connected to an outlet pipe 10 so that the amount of compound in thev receptacle 5 may be regulated and maintained at a substantially constant level, suitable valves 11 Vbeing provided for the inlet and outlet pipe connections. By a rproper manipulation of the valves 11 a minimum amount of the composition will be exposed to the air and losses by Vevaporation and deterioration of the composition will be substantially reduced. Journalled in a pair of upwardly extending arms 12 formed on the sides of the receptacle y5 is a sheave 13 to which a strand of wire 14 may be passed from a pulley 15 mounted on a shaft 85 16 which is supported independently of the remainder of the mechanism, and is driven in any well known manner by means (not shown). `The wire 14 is drawn in the direction of the arrows from a source ofsupply (not shown) and wound about the pulley 15 and from there passes to the sheave 13 and back to the pulley 15 a number of times determined by the desired thickness of coating material. A heat insulating plate 21 having an aperture 95 22 therein is secured to an upwardly extending portion of the compound receptacle 5 and has mounted thereon a wiper 23 which has a serrated edge for engaging and wiping the grooved surface of the sheave 13 and which in coopera- 100 tion with the sides of the compound receptacle 5 forms a substantially air-tight chamber through which the wire will pass on leaving the composition. The plate 21 also supports a pair of castings 24 and 25 made of a non-corrosive aluminum 105 alloy and welded together in such a manner that the inner surfaces thereofy form a rectangular chamber through which the wire .14 may be drawn, the upperv portion of the chamber being hereinafter referred to as the combustion chamber, while the lower portion is referred to as the heating chamber. Flanges 26 and 27 are formed on the castings 24 and 25 respectively, forming channels on the outer surfaces of the castings, which channels, when the castings have been joinedtogether and mounted yon the -heat insulating plate 21, will be positioned at the front and rear of the mechanism. Cross members 28, 29, 30, and 31 are formed' in the channel of the castings 24, and similar cross members 32, 33, 34, and 35 are formed in the channel Vof ythe lcasting .25. The cross members 28 and 32 which are'formed at the bottom of the channels .-are .used `as .flanges by means of which the castings maylbesecured to the heat insulating plate 21 and lthelcross members 31 and 35 are also used as flanges .tov which a rectangular upwardly extending tube 3,6 is secured. The members 29 cooperateV "with the members 31, the flanges 26 of the casting 2.4, and a plate 37 secured to the flanges 26 to form a chamber which-is divided by the member 130 into separate (compartments 38 and y39 at .the front of the mechanism. 'In like manner themembers 33,

34,-and 35, 'the flanges .27 of the casting .25 and a plate 40 -Sform :two ycompartments .41 and 42 at the rear of 4the mechanism. Y

v4Mountedlin'the channel of the castings l24anol 25 atapo'int betweenthe cross members 28 and 29532 -andl33, respectivelyfare a pairof electrical vheating units-47V and 48, ito whichelectrical current may be supplied by conductors v49 and 59 connected to-a source ofA supply (not shown). The heatingfunits 47 Aand-48am secured in place upon -the'castingsfby a pair o'f wedges .51 and 52 interposed between theouter lsurface of the heating units'and rods 53 and v54 securedto the flanges 26 'and 27-of the castings iandextending'transversely thereof. g l

Compartments 38 vand 41 vcommunicate vwith the combustion chamber through perforated 'front Vand rear walls aslshown at55 and.56. It `wil1`be 'noted Ethatthe .perforations in the castings "124' extend `to a point, somewhat higher :than .those formed lin'the casting 25, that the lower rows of perforationsarefangularlydisposed, and that the combustionchambervis voffset at 57, fora purpose which fwill become apparent -as lthe description progresses. In the `side wall -o'f the combustion chamber a spark 7plug y45 is mounted to which lelectrical'currentmaybesupplied by a conductor 46 forigniting vthe 'combustible .materials in the composition.

Air under pressure is supplied from a source (notshown) toi'a pipe 58 for transmission through ajpassage59 to'passages 60 and 61 which cornmunicate Iwith the compartments -39 and 42. Slots 62 and-63 .are-formed in the members 30 and -34-respectively,=to permit the air transmitted to the compartments 39 and 42 to passftherefrom Ainto the compartments 38and 41 `whereingauze Idiffusers-64 and 65 respectively, serve to equal- Aize the-pressure ofthe air'so that it will be directed -evenly Vto the apertures for -admission 'therethrough-to 'thechamber Iformed by the twocastings. The castings 24 and 25 and the tube 36 connected thereto vare, encased in a `heat insulat- :ingcompositionb` which is secured in place by a casing 67 Ysurrounding vthe castings-and the tube. It is tobe-notedftha't `in Athe specic embodiment shown herein the insulating composition 66 is andxcastingsfof various shapes to accommodate varioustypesof composition and sizes of wire.

Positioned 'adjacent theupperend of the tube able supply spool (not shown) over the pulley 15, VAdown' and around the pulley 13, through the .heating land combustion chambers, through tube v`36, around the pulley l5, again down and around :the pulley 13 and through the heating and combustion chambers and tube 36 to the pulley 15. .The wire is threaded around the pulleys and the 'roller Y'in'this way several times, and the last pass of the wire is drawn from the pulley 15 to a takeup device of any suitable type (not shown).

v The compound receptacle 5'is filled to ra predeterminedlevel Ywhich may be accurately controlled bythe valvesxl'l on the supply and outlet hose, with an insulating .composition consisting of a ,substantially non-combustible insulating material combined with a suitable volatile and combustible solvent or solvents. The term substantially non-combustible as used herein and in the appended claims is employed in a relative sense to distinguish `between the substances which are baked on the wire and those which are burned .to ygenerate heat for .hardening the composition. In ithe embodiment disclosed herein the solvents :have a'flash point ywhich is under 200 F. and the substantially non-combustible ingredients rhave a flash point which is between 700 F. and 900 F. and .will :burn lat around 1400u F. By the term solvent as used above and hereinafter in the specification and annexed claims, is meant any substance 'which will'combine with the insulating material to form a true solution, an emulsion, a suspension, or a vmixtureof any of these states of matter. An'insulating-composition which may be employed with satisfactory results is disclosed .in the'United States Patent No. 1,101,281, issued June 23, 1914, to H. B. Holmes et el., with the exceptionthat the carbon tetrachloride contained therein may be omitted to increase the inflamimability of the solvents. 'This composition with 'the ycarbon tetrachloride omitted comprises substantially 158 pounds of low grade pitchy ozocerite, 16.5 pounds of commercially pure ozocerite, '11.5 lgallons of castor oil, 36.5 gallons of mineral Voil Aof a specific gravity of .860, 19.5 gallons of asphaltum, 1 pound glue, 40 gallons of turpentine, and 42 gallons of kerosene.

After the compound receptacle has been adjusted to the desired position by means of the headed member 6, electrical energy is supplied from a suitable source (not shown) to the spark -plug to ignite the gases formed by the vaporizing of the volatile and more readily combustible `substances of the composition, which vaporization is materially aided by the heat generated by the heating elements 47 and 48 positioned on the castings 24 and 25. Y

Themechanism for driving the take-up device and the pulley 15 is then started, whereupon the wire 14 will be drawn through the insulating composition 17 and become coated therewith. A strand of the coated wire passes vertically from thecomposition directly into the chamber formed by the castings 24 and 25 which is heated by the heating elements 47 and 48 and in which some of the volatile, lcombustible substances vpresent in the coating on the wire are vaporized. The Wire next travels past the perforations formed in the castings at 55 and 56 where a supply of air suicient to burn substantially all of the solvents in the coating is admitted. The air thus admitted has been heated in passing through the pipe 58 arranged adjacent the combustion chamber and diiiused so that the pressure at all the perforations will be equal, and is here mixed with the vapors produced in the heating chamber. In the combustion chamber the mixture of vapors and air is ignited by the spark plug 45 positioned therein, whereupon the solvents upon that portion of the wire passing at that instant past the perforations in the castings 24 and 25 become ignited. Since the air under pressure admitted through the pipe 58 may be readily controlled the combustion in the chamber may be regulated and may be controlled so that the flame produced by the combustion of the solvents will produce sufficient heat to give a satisfactory product. The height of the name in the combustion chamber necessary to produce sufticient heat to give a satisfactory product may be controlled by the amount of air admitted thereto and will vary materially depending upon the brttleness desired in the coating, the thickness of the coating, the quality and ingredients of the composition, the diameter of the wire, and the number of coats of composition on the wire. In the lower portion of the combustion chamber substantially all of the solvents in the coating upon the wire are burned, and suflicient heat is generated at this point to bake the insulating material firmly upon the wire.

The oiset in the passage at 5'7 and the air projected through the uppermost apertures on the right side (Fig. 1) of the combustion chamber serve to deflect the tip of the flame as shown at 70 and direct the gases generated in the combustion away from the wire, While the angularly disposed apertures at the lower end of the combustion chamber direct the flame upwardly and prevent it travelling down the wire to the supply of compound. This operation permits the coating of a Wire with any desired color of enamel without discoloring it, since the carbon produced in combustion will be deflected with the flame and will not be deposited on the strand. Obviously, this feature though not essential in baking black enamel on a wire is absolutely necessary if it is desired to coat the strand with enamel of some other color.

The Wire, now coated with a hardened insulating substance, passes upwardly through the upper portion of the combustion chamber and through the hot products of combustion therein which are generated in the lower portion of the chamber, whereby the remaining solvents in the coating are driven oi and the insulating material is completely hardened upon the wire. The wire is then passed over the pulley 15 and again through the above outlined steps to add another coating of insulating material upon the Wire.

The wire may be repassed through the apparatus until the insulating coating thereon has assumed a thickness suncient for the use in which the Wire is to be employed.

Among the outstanding features of this invention is the adjustability of the compound receptacle. By regulating the position of the compound receptacle the position of the wire in the combustion chamber may be accurately controlled due to the fact that while the sheave 13 is movable to the right or left as viewed in Fig. 1, the pulley 15 is not so movable. It is therefore possible to regulate the amount of deection of the flame away from the wire, caused by the air projected through the upper apertures in the front of the combustion chamber, and in this manner control the quality of the coating.

It is to be understood that the above illustrated embodiment is illustrative only and that various modifications of the apparatus may be made without departing from the scope of the invention which is to be limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. In apparatus for applying a coating on a strand, means for applying coating material to the strand, a combustion chamber, means for drawing a strand through the chamber, means for igniting solvents of the composition to bake the remaining ingredients thereof on the strand, compartments positioned on opposite sides of the combustion chamber, means for supplying combustion air to said compartments, and openings for directing opposed streams of air from the compartment to the strand to support the combustion, some of the openings being positioned to deflect the upper end of the flame from its normal path.

2. In an apparatus for hardening a coating applied to a strand, a vaporizing chamber, a combustion chamber above the vaporizing chamber, means for drawing the strand with a coating composition containing a volatile ingredient through the vaporizing and combustion chambers, means for igniting the volatile ingredients of the strand in the combustion chamber, and means above the vaporizing chamber for directing air longitudinally upward on the strand to prevent the ame from traveling downwardly on the strand into the vaporizing chamber.

3. In an apparatus for hardening a coating applied to a strand, a combustion chamber having apertures in opposite side walls, the apertures in one side wall being located higher than corresponding apertures in the other side wall,rmeans for drawing the strand with a coating composition thereon through the combustion chamber, means for igniting the solvents thereof on the strand, the disposition of said apertures causing the flame of combustion to be directed from the strand.

FRANK MARTINDELL. ANSEL DWIGHT MILLER. 

